Locally grown and produced foods are experiencing surging consumer demand and widening availability. Some members of the industry even are saying that locally grown will be the next organic. Contributing to their long-term potential, local foods are not just a food store category or segment but a marketing construct. For retailers, foodservice operators, and food marketers alike, local has, in other words, become a shorthand descriptor that makes food sound high quality, fresher, more authentic, trustworthy, environmentally friendly, and supportive of the local community-key factors for attracting shoppers into the store and encouraging repeat business.

Despite the media hype, increased consumer interest, and growing presence in grocery stores and restaurants, however, locally sourced food remains a fraction of the nation's total food supply. Packaged Facts calculates that local foods generated $11.7 billion in sales in 2014, or 1.8% of total retail sales of foods and beverages. At this stage, local foods are not anywhere close to matching organic foods' sales, consumer acceptance, and farm acreage, with potential growth hampered by short growing seasons throughout much of the country.